Caching Out (7 page)

 “Well
the DCI does maintain the largest database of records in South Dakota,” Martin
said, “but we both know that not all the small town forces report things like
they should.”

Tate
sighed, “I knew it was a long shot, but I had to look. Also checked the
unrestricted FBI case files with no luck. Made another trip by Parker’s house
just to check the perimeter, we had a report of kids sneaking in to look at the
scene. While I was there I picked up her laptop. Found it under a stack of
papers that she appeared to have been grading. System is password protected and
I turned it over to the county lab to have them extract emails and a list of
websites she accessed recently or anything else that might prove helpful.”

Leaning
back in the booth, Tate said, “Thanks to the hair follicle test, we know that
she wasn’t a regular smoker and we know when the weed got in her system. I
still believe that the Ketamine was a gift from the killer. Daniel Westhaven
called and confirmed no reported cases at County Hospital involving Ketamine
which pushes me to believe that I’m right about the killer using it to subdue
her.”

Rising
to leave, Martin tossed a five dollar bill on the table and slid his hat on.“Tonight
proves that the locals are like a splinter festering under the skin, just
waiting to bust. They’re running scared on this and tonight won’t be the only
call that we have to take where some dumb ass tries to take justice into his
own hands. I really think you should talk to the press, get them on your side
and make a statement to the public. Give it some thought okay?”

Tate
watched Martin climb into his patrol car
. You know he’s right, Echo. You’ve
got to let the town know that you’re on their side before this gets out of
hand.
 

Reaching
for his cap, Tate slipped another five under his cup and left the diner.

CHAPTER 9

Reaching
the trailhead, Gavin picked up his pace and quickly covered the short distance
back to his cabin. Rushing inside, he dropped his backpack then flung his cap
onto the bed. He flipped his laptop open, and slid his finger across the ID
reader. Clicking the remote camera icon, he had a clear view of the happy
family searching for the hidden geocache.

Gavin
turned up the volume, then swore, “Damn, I should have found a closer place for
the camera so that I could hear them better.” 

Laughing,
the dark-haired woman stared up at her husband. “That guy scared about ten
years off my life. I wasn’t expecting anyone to be out here. Guess I should
have known that we weren’t the only ones at the lake who’d do some caching this
weekend.” 

 “Yeah,
well, I think we scared him, too.” The man replied. He was in a big hurry to
get back to the campground.”  Glancing at the boys, he shrugged, “Probably had
someone waiting for him.” Both boys studied the GPS that their dad held and
stepped toward the cache site.

Turning
several rocks over, they soon chimed in unison, “Found it!” 

Gavin
watched the man pull the plastic container free from its hiding spot then pull the
top off. The wife reached over him, grabbing the log book out of the container.
Dropping to his knees, the man sat the cache down on the ground so the boys
could see the contents.   

With
his eyes glued to his monitor, Gavin watched the smaller of the two boys pull
the coin out and hold it up for his father to see.

“Look,
Dad!  Can I take it?” 

Reaching
out for the coin, the man turned it over in his hand. “Well, it doesn’t appear
to be a travel bug. Very unusual coin though. Sure, I guess you can take it,
just be sure to leave something of yours in return.” 

Grinning,
the little boy pulled an orange and yellow fishing bobber out of his pocket and
dropped it into the plastic container. The man watched as his younger son
dodged his brother, who had reached out to snatch the coveted prize from him.

“No
fighting boys,” the woman admonished with a grin. “You can both take one thing
as long as you leave something in return.” She turned to her husband who was
putting the cache back in its hiding spot. “We’d better get a move on if we’re
going to take the boat out before dinner.” Holding hands, the couple moved away
from the clearing, the boys followed.

Gavin
watched the family leave the clearing and step out of the camera’s range. He
smiled and whispered, “Let the chase begin.” A couple of seconds passed before
a second window popped up on Gavin’s computer screen. This one showed a small
area map with a lighted cursor bobbing along the trail toward the campground. “That
tracking coin is the smartest thing you’ve come up with yet Gav, and this gig
with the State and National Parks system has been the best hunting ground
you’ve ever had.” 

A
three year contract with the State of South Dakota to install and monitor wi-fi
in all its State and National parks gave him the access he needed to the
cachers he wanted. The game had become so much more interesting.

Gavin
grabbed a bottled beer from the mini-fridge, and stopped at the mirror. “Gavin
you are one smart son of a bitch. That little family has no clue that they are
carrying the one thing that will lead me right to their front door.”  Sitting
back on the worn plaid sofa in the room, he propped his feet on the coffee
table, took a long draw from his beer and continued to watch his monitor.

CHAPTER 10

            At
Tate’s request, the KCKY News van was back in the parking lot of the courthouse.
Standing at the top of the steps, he watched as the rooftop antenna attached to
the van rose skyward and the shaggy-haired cameraman hoisted his camera onto a
tripod and bent to adjust the focus. He walked toward the crew and took a deep
breath, knowing that the camera followed him as he made his descent. Tate stopped
at the bottom step and waited for the talking head from the television station to
reach him.

Wes
Lively smiled a plastic smile and motioned for the cameraman to zoom in for a
close-up. “This is Wes Lively with KCKY News, live at the Shannon County
Courthouse where we’re talking to Chief of Police Tate Echo. Chief Echo, we at
KCKY want to thank you for meeting with us today. We understand that you have
some information to share regarding the recent homicide of Saralyn Parker.” 

Facing
the camera, Tate tried not to scowl. “The investigation is open and specific
details continue to be confidential at this time. The Shannon County Sherriff’s
office is working closely with the city offices and by utilizing the manpower
provided by Shannon County, we have doubled our taskforce on this investigation.
I want to assure the residents of Pine Ridge that we are committed to solving
this murder and that when an arrest is imminent, we will let the community know.”

The
newsman broke into Tate’s prepared statement. “Chief Echo, do you have any
suspects at this time?  When do you expect an arrest?”

Tate
scowled at the man. “As I stated when we spoke last week, this is an open
investigation and there are sensitive details that would compromise the case
should they be released too early into the investigation. My statement to the
community is that while this appears to be an isolated incident, we should all
remain vigilant. Keep your doors locked and your eyes open for any suspicious
activity or people and report those to the police or sheriff’s department. Do
not make any attempt to approach any person or persons involved in what you
might consider suspicious activity. Do not attempt to take matters into your
own hands in any way. This killer is unstable and dangerous.”  Tate reached to
shake hands with Wes, signaling that the interview was over. Surprisingly, Wes
took the hint.

Tate
made his way up the steps, into the courthouse and his office. The voicemail
light on his phone already blinked a steady red.

CHAPTER 11

Settling
in on the small front porch of his cabin, Gavin sipped a beer and leaned against
the faded wooden railing. The sun drifted low over the lake; he admired its red
and orange rays kissing the smooth surface and fading into the water below. The
smell of charcoal fires filled the air, mixing with the aroma of pine and cedar.
Somewhere in the distance he heard kids laughing as they played. As night fell
on the campground, voices muted and faded as campers moved inside, settling in
for the night.

“Almost
time,” he whispered and went inside to check his computer monitor for any
changes. The green cursor blinking on his screen was stationary at a location
just down the hill from his cabin. “So close.”  Smiling, he closed the computer.
“Ready or not here I come.” 

His
cap on and backpack over one shoulder, Gavin stepped into the blackness of the
night. Darkness and shadows wrapped around him, offering an eerie welcome. He
slowed his steps so that anyone watching would assume that he was just another
camper out for an evening stroll to the docks. Gavin slowly moved down the hill
to the cabins at the lake’s edge.

As
the cabins came into view, he slid closer to the tree line and the protection of
the sweeping branches that hung low to the ground. Settling into the woods
behind cabin number three, Gavin planned to do some reconnaissance on the happy
little family that he’d met earlier in the day. A few minutes later, the man
and woman from the cache site stepped out onto the porch. Still holding hands,
they walked a short distance to the faded wooden pier that ran out over the
lake. In the daylight, the pier served as a dry place to fish and at night,
Gavin supposed, it was a romantic place to take a walk.

 “They
are too freaking cute,” he mumbled. “Too bad the little momma didn’t take my
coin.” Gavin watched as the couple moved farther away from their cabin and then
stepped from the shadows, adjusted his backpack and casually walked to the door
of the cabin.

Just
a fellow camper out for a neighborly visit.
  He’d long ago learned that
people tend to overlook the obvious. As long as you looked like you belong,
then people would assume that you did. Listening at the door he smiled at the
silence that greeted him. Gavin slowly turned the door knob and entered the
family’s cabin, quietly closing the door behind him. “Aw, look at that.” 

The
boys were asleep in bunk beds tucked into a corner at the back of the cabin. The
older boy was on the top bunk, his back turned on the room. On the bottom bunk
the smaller of the two slept soundly on one side, his legs curled tightly
against his body and one arm hanging half off the bed. A sliver of light peeking
from a barely open bathroom door bathed the small room with its soft muted
light.

“Little
guy must be afraid of the dark,” he whispered, recalling that his mother had
always left the bathroom light on for him at that age. Sliding closer, Gavin
smiled when he saw his coin resting in the little boy’s open hand. He greedily
plucked the token out of the child’s hand, squeezing it tightly for a minute
before he traced the etched design with one finger. A breath that he hadn’t
known he was holding pushed its way out of his lungs. “It’s still warm with his
heat. I love it.”

 
Bending over the sleeping child, he lifted the small boy gently and placed him
on one shoulder. The boy settled in and snuggled close as if he had been
carried just this way a million times. The child sighed, one small arm
tightening around Gavin’s neck. Gavin rubbed his free hand across the child’s
back soothing both the hunter and the prey.

Gavin
left the cabin and slid into the darkness, taking the same trail through the
underbrush that he’d walked just this morning.

Less
than an hour later and freshly showered, Gavin sat in a weathered Adirondack
chair, propping one foot up on the porch railing of his cabin. He watched the
park entrance and wasn’t surprised when two Shannon County Sheriff’s cars sped
through the gate.

“Down
the hill they go to cabin three and two very distraught parents, probably still
holding hands.” Laughing at his own little joke, Gavin twisted the top off of a
bottle of water and took a swig before leaning back in his chair. He ran a hand
over his still wet hair as he waited for the show to continue.

Minutes
later, Gavin leaned forward, as the headlights of another vehicle swept past
the park gate. This one, a pickup sporting the South Dakota Parks service logo
was closely followed by a small SUV with a door emblem proclaiming it to be the
Shannon County K-9 unit.

The
park became a beehive of activity with campers stumbling from their cabins to
see what was going on. Gavin didn’t move from his perch as spotlights swept back
and forth through the trees casting shadows. He smiled, enjoying the show as
police officials and concerned campers made what he knew were futile efforts to
look for the missing child.

Leading
the group, a short and stocky female agent held what appeared to be piece of
clothing in one hand and the leash of a very large dog in the other. Catching
the scent of something important, the dog made a loud sound somewhere between a
bark and a howl. The massive beast took off causing a commotion as he pulled
the woman handler along with several members of the search party following at a
brisk pace. Letting out another bark-howl the dog took the same path around the
lake that Gavin had taken twice that day.